(Good plot twist, Lor! )

Aladrae rose from her throne with an expression of absolute fury crossing her lovely features as she saw one of her people dragging along a human girl behind her. A cold anger built up inside her, filling her very veins with hatred. She strode towards the faery courtier and the human, looking in this moment a most dangerous creature.

She looked over Elizabeth with a look of distaste; she could sense her fear like a scent. "This is not an ambassador," she said, "but a scared child." She roughly grabbed her wrist, twisting it viciously, pulling her a few steps closer, assessing her more carefully. Then, abruptly, she released her harshly, as if she had contaminated her skin by touching a human. She turned her blaze of a glare onto Joycelin.

"You have brought a human into our midsts," she said, her tone seeping with infuriation. "For that there will be a price to be paid, be sure of it." She looked over her shoulder and summoned her guards, who walked towards her, severe in their royal uniform and heavily armed. She pointed at Elizabeth. "Sieze her."

The faery guards immediately went forward at their queen's order and grabbed the girl by her arms, their fingers digging uncaringly into her skin like claws.
"Lock her up," Aladrae commanded. "Be sure that she is heavily guarded. I will deal with her later."

Kathryn watched intently from the table. A human. Her own anger was as raw and terrible as a lionness'; she felt the urge to leap up from the bench and rip the human apart. But she pushed back her bloodthirst, and looked at Queen Aladrae. She noted how the queen had not been fooled for a second into thinking that this girl was a human ambassador; the humans never sent ambassadors, they never wanted to talk, because in most regions they did not even know of the existence of faeries.
If she had been queen, Kathryn would have killed Elizabeth on the spot. But as it was, she was not queen, and had to content herself with remaining sitting down, keeping an eye on what was going on.

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~~Siggy by Lembas~~

((Glad you liked it. I hoped I wasn't taking too many liberties with your RP. ))

Elizabeth felt the horror rise through her as the queen walked forward. As the queen stood before her, Elizabeth thought her legs would either shake off her body or just give out. She tried to say something about this being a mistake, but her mouth wouldn't move. When the queen grabbed her arm she felt like the touch would freeze all the blood in her veins.

"Seize her."

Finally she found her voice. "No!" she screamed as the guards grabbed her. She tried to fight but it equated to nothing more than a small toddler fighting against a stronger parents. Her heart sank as they dragged her off. She was a dead woman.

Joycelin knew better then to speak until Elizabeth was out of the room. In truth, she was shocked at the queen's fury. She had defiantly not expected this amount of emotion. Then there was the whole "punishment" factor. If the amount of anger in the queen's eyes was any indication, Joycelin was in very real trouble.

"She said she came to learn about our kind," Joycelin finally said. "Maybe she can help straighten up this mess we find ourselves in with the humans." Joycelin searched her mind for more to say that could salvage this situation. "I found her standing right outside our land. What if this is fate? What if she is meant to help us?"

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(No, the idea was great )

Aladrae watched, unmoved, as the guards dragged the human girl off screaming. The doors of the great hall banged shut behind them, and she turned towards Joycelin, listening to her words, her wrath in no way subsided, only quietened for a while. She looked at the faery courtier in eye, the unswerving sword-gray and silver of the irises unsettling in the depths of the queen's anger.

Finally, she gave a small, harsh laugh. The expression she turned on Joycelin was a mixture of bitterness, amusement, pity and fury. "Fool," she said. "Do you really think that? If you do then I can only imagine how a witless girl such as you was ever allowed to be a courtier of mine." Her words bit like the sharp edge of a knife. "Came to learn about our kind? She is very probably a spy, come, yes, to learn about us, then to report back to whoever she's working for. You willingly led her here. You showed her the route to our home. Do you have any idea of the ammount of damage you have done?"

She shook her head. "This is not fate. This is a very unpleasant situation. How could you have possibly thought this child was brought to help us? On today of all days? No more than a week ago our most important of allies was robbed of his territory in the most violent, despicable way possible. Hundreds of faeries were burnt to death. Now can you tell your queen that any human can aid us?" She gave Joycelin a hard look. "Return to your seat. I will deal with you."

With that she turned away, silvery skirts swishing. The conversation was over. A deadly hush had settled over the hall.

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~~Siggy by Lembas~~

Joycelin stood silently as the queen scolded her. She felt shame rise into her cheeks. She didn't meat the queens gaze just stared at the floor. When the queen returned to her seek, Joycelin became painfully aware of the harsh gazes of the others.

Joycelin returned to her seat without a word. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she wasn't sent to help us. This just seemed so right a second ago. How did this turn so quickly? She doesn't seem like a spy yet perhaps the queen is right. What have I done? Could I really have put my people in danger?"

The room was still dead quiet. Joycelin wished someone would say something...anything! It had to be better then this screaming silence!

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Aladrae sat on her throne, thinking. The silence still hung over her court; the cheer, laughter and conversation had gone, her courtiers were still in shock that a human, of all creatures, had been brought into the royal halls, and by one of their own, no less. Aladrae said nothing. She would go to where they had imprisoned the girl soon. There was a cavernous tunnel of prisons somewhere in the palace; it was like a labyrinth, and guarded at each corner, every nook and cranny. The bars of the cells were thick iron and charmed so that not even a faery could bend them apart with magic. It was an unpleasant place, but it held to it's purpose. Clichéd as it sounded... Aladrae and her prison guards did have ways of making the human girl talk. Rather horrible ways, too. And Aladrae knew that this girl would tell them everything she knew to avoid the pain those ways would inflict.

Kathryn gave a small glance about. Very slowly, people were starting to quietly talk again, in hushed tones, wondering to their neighbours what on earth had just went on. She gracefully rose from her seat, her crisp skirts swishing, her trench coat skimming the air in a swirl as she strode down the length of the table. Purposefully, she did not shoot one look at Leona, one signal that she knew her, one sign that she should follow her. Yet it would be clear to her court spy that she did want her to follow her, as soon as she could, as innocently as she could, without alerting anyone's attention to her, without showing anyone that she was going to meet Kathryn.
As the doors opened for her then banged shut behind her, Kathryn could guess Leona's thoughts at this moment, with the smug amusement of one conspirator's friendship for another. She would be stubbornly refusing to admit to herself that Aladrae had been right in her anger; pushing back her agreement to make way for the old irritation against the queen. Kathryn knew she had a loyal friend indeed here. Leona believed that Kathryn could help her when she was queen, and so she would. Her wage for her aid would be paid gladly; both of them knew that wage was not in coins. Kathryn had known Leona for a long while now, understood how her life was; if she could ammend the faults in it, she would.

But first, there was work to do. She went down the corridor, her leather boots ringing on the highly polished marble flooring.

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~~Siggy by Lembas~~

Finlaogh, Ambassador for Raeshdam, the most prominent Faery Lord in Canada, had watched the proceedings in silence. Finally, he stood, cinching his long, crimson tunic with a beaded belt of buckskin, checked that his war club still hung on the leather by it's lanyard, and took his leave from the long table, moving to Queen Aladrae's throne. If the Queen killed this human without questioning her, then they would learn nothing. But having lived amongst the Iriquois, and having seen many a Human tortured and killed, he thought he could assist in whatever interrogation would ensue. He would not let his kind fall. He had sworn that before he had departed Canada. Bowing deeply before the woman, he spoke quietly, keeping his tone level. The last thing he needed was a quarrel between Raeshdam and Aladrae caused by his slip of tongue.

"Your Majesty. If I may, would it be prudent if I spoke with the girl? I learned much from the Iriquois, I may be able to wrest the information we desire from her. I have heard enough of what happened in America, and I wish to preserve Lord Raeshdam's realm from the same catastrophe. I would need only an hour, Milady." He said, rasing his sight from his boots to Aladrae's face, silently hoping his request would be granted.

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Son of Bellatrix

Banner by Pandora

Okay, Eliza, don't panic. That's what your teachers always told you. Ya don't think clearly when you panic. Breath....good girl. Okay, so what do you know? Fearies hate human. Okay....what else? I'm in a prison far done in the center of the earth!! I am going to die down here! Slowly, and painfully I bet too! Elizabeth thought as she paced back and forth in her cell.

Now the panic was starting to come back in. She'd tried to reason with the guards. She'd told them she'd gotten lost and that little feary girl and kidnapped her. Then she tried to tell them she was a feary trapped in a human. Nothing seemed to work on these guys! They just stood there as still as the stone walls around her.

Finally she stopped pacing and sat in a corner. Drawing her knees to her chest she wrapped her arms around them trying to keep warm. A single tear slipped down her cheek. How was she to get out of this one?

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Aladrae watched as Finlaogh, the Ambassador of Raeshdam, approached the throne. She listened to him with a raised, perfectly arched slim eyebrow. When he had finished she leaned back against the padded back of the throne elegantly, grey eyes narrowed. "Indeed, Ambassador," she said coolly. "I am going down to the cell where they have contained the human child in short order to speak with her myself. Have no doubt that she will be interrogated thoroughly."
She paused as a servant stepped forward holding a silver tray on which a goblet of red wine was balanced carefully. She smoothly picked it up and raised it to her lips, then put it back down again. "However, you may accompany me, if you wish."
If you have the stomach. She looked at him. "Be forewarned, Ambassador, it is not exactly pleasant down in the cells... and there will be no sympathy shown towards this girl."

~~~

Kathryn had at once assumed that Leona would head for her quarters. The door was open a crack, and she lightly pushed it open without knocking, then closed it behind her. No one had seen her, the hall had been empty. Now at last, she and her spy had some time to talk. Leona was over by the window. Kathryn looked at her, the silence stretching out between them. She had a way of doing that; of leaving matters unsaid at first, so that the listener would straight away want to tell her everything they knew. Then, slowly, a smile formed on Kathryn's lips. One of amusement, and approval.
"You're doing well," she observed, strolling over to a chair. She seated herself gracefully with a swish of her black skirts. Already, she had elegance and poise of a queen. "I do not believe that anyone for a moment suspects you."
She gave a small laugh as she turned her head. "Now. I am here at last. As you might have guessed, our plan might have to wait for a little while in the current circumstance. Aladrae is angry. And rightly so." She looked at Leona firmly. Leona might hate Aladrae, as Kathryn did, but it could not obscure her seeing matters properly. "A human was willingly led into her halls. She is correct in being furious."
Suddenly, she rose up from her seat. She walked towards Leona, looking at her intently. Her dark eyes did not waver, and she then spoke in a small thread of a whisper, audible only to Leona. "But her real danger is us. She must not realise that before our time comes."

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~~Siggy by Lembas~~

Finlaogh's face hardened. "I lost my sympathy at Tippecanoe. The Americans and thier Human kin have no such sympathy to gain from me. I promise to you, Majesty, I shall show no mercy." He said, resting his hand on the handle of his war club.

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Son of Bellatrix

Banner by Pandora

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Joycelin was thankful when the noise picked back up a little in the room. Still, an oppressive feeling hung in the room. She could hear her heart beating in her ears. The eyes were the worst. She could feel them piercing into her back as she sat staring at her plate. Finally after she feared she could no longer breath, Joycelin stood up and walked out of the court. Once out the door, she picked up her pace and ran to her room.

Joycelin's room was colorfully decorated. Scarfs and tapestries of all kinds of colors hung about the walls and were draped over furniture. On a bedside table sat a vase full of flowers. Joycelin, however, was not in any mood to notice the floors, the scarves, or the tapestries. Not even the vase full of flowers brought of smile to her face. Instead tears of disappointment and frustration dripped down onto her bed as she sat.

Why hadn't her plan worked? Why hadn't anyone listened? She was just trying to help! If they had only talked to the human, she could have told them all they needed to know! But no! They reacted in anger and prejudice. In ignorance they'd sent what they feared down into the dungeon. This wasn't what she'd had in mind only a hour ago.

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"Very well." Aladrae rose from her seat and summoned two guards to accompany her. She looked at Finloagh. "You will follow me." She swept ahead, her silvery skirts rustling on the marble floor. The faery queen looked dangerous in her determination; something predatory glittered in her grey eyes. The great doors of the hall were immediately flung open for her and she strode through. She led them through a series of corridors, eventually leading them down to a small staircase in a corner that winded down and down; it would take them down to the labyrinth that was the dungeons.

She gracefully went down the steep stairs, though there were no handrails to guide her; she was obviously used to them - anyone who wasn't would have a difficult time trying to trip down the thick stone steps. The steps led down to the beginning of the labyrinth; it was cold and grey, and the thudding footsteps of guards on patrol echoed against the walls.

"The human is being kept in the dungeon on the left wing, your Majesty," one of her guards pointed out to her. She smiled.
"Excellent," she said. "Fetch my tools to me." The guard immediately marched off at her orders. What exactly her "tools" were remained to be seen. She took the left turn and walked down a small corridor. There, before her, was the dungeon, and there, inside, was the human girl, who had so offended her with her presence, and who Aladrae knew would pay the price.

"Ah," Aladrae said disdainfully, running her gaze over Elizabeth, "there you are." A terrible glee danced inside her that she had a human behind bars. Hers to torment. "That wasn't very clever you know, letting yourself be led in here by one of my people. We had to close you in here, to keep you safe, as it were. Oh, very safe." Sarcasm dripped in her tone, and a smile lit up her face as her guard stepped forward with a heavy iron box. Another guard came forward carrying a table. The door of the prison was opened and the guards carried the box and table inside, afterwards placing the ominous-looking box on the wooden table. There was no chance that this would allow Elizabeth to escape; they had placed her in thick chains.

Aladrae walked in. The box was opened for her. She idly looked at the contents inside, and casually brought out a long, red knife; it looked terrifying, sheer red glass with an ornate handle. "Now," she said, flipping the knife in her hands, "tell me why you came here."

~~~

Kathryn looked at Leona. "She suspects a faery, one of her own, of treachery, even now," she said quietly. "The girl Joycelin. There will be some degree of punishment for her; we will have to see what penalty will be paid for bringing a human into our rhealm. But..." she smiled, "Aladrae does not suspect us. Indeed, she does not see me as even worth talking to." She did not sound bitter. "I had the 'pleasure' of speaking a few words with her," she continued. "She allowed me back to court and I daresay she considers me nothing more than a faery woman in strange, London clothes."
She gave a small laugh and glanced at the window. "She will be proved wrong, in time. As for you, you have a very good role here. Play it well and to our advantage."

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~~Siggy by Lembas~~

Finlaogh followed the Queen in silence, and oserved the human. She was young, late teens, pehaps, early twenties. Unsuprisingly, she looked terrified, especially when Aladrae drew a glass blade from a nearby chest.

Subconciously, he ran his fingers over his war club. It was a long affair of hard oak , topped with a weight. But it's most fierce attribute was the row of bear's claws on the striking edge. The claws were embedded closely in the wood, giving the war club the appearance of a grotesque serrated blade. He had kiled many Humans, French, English, Americans, and Algonquin, with his weapon of choice.

And he would notch the handle again. But only when the girl begged for death at his feet.

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Son of Bellatrix

Banner by Pandora

Elizabeth pressed herself further against the wall. "Oh, God, please help me!" she fervently prayed. Her eyes passed from the queen to the man. Both looked terrifying as they stared at her with their weapons of choice. Elizabeth wasn't sure which thought scared her more: being stabbed to death or bludgeoned to death.

"I..I.." Her breathed quickened, but that only seemed to slow her thinking process. "I was dragged," she clarified. After she said it, Elizabeth instantly wished she could take it back. Was it really a good idea to correct the queen?

Maybe in the queen's second question she could find salvation. "I'm..." Elizabeth gulped then tried again. "I'm a journalist. I write for a small newspaper in town." She searched their faces for any hint of their thoughts. Nothing! "I was wanting to find information on the faery people." Another pause to regain courage then she continued. "I wanted to educate people of your existence."

Elizabeth thought about adding the part about being laughed out of her bosses office and thus setting out to prove them wrong. So really, she wasn't acting officially for the newspaper. But really, did they need that much detail.

Her eyes scanned both weapons again. "Please, I don't mean any harm." She brought her eyes up and looked pleadingly into her two captures faces. "Don't hurt me," she whispered.

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